My Baby is My Bling!

I wanted to share something that I am completely obsessed with. Baby wearing. I know I am one hairy armpit from living on my own farm and dancing around a fire naked and chanting at night. But bare with me.. You may find yourself inspired!

There are a million forms of baby wearing. There are slings, ring slings, structured carriers, and wraps. I'm sure there are more but those are all I can think of. Or at least own!

I've always been a little interested in baby-wearing, and tried to do it with Ben when he was little but I never got into it. He was born in August and Texas summers are so hot you can actually fry an egg on the sidewalk. I'm not kidding. Maybe I'll blog about it when it gets warmer. Anyway, before Ben was born I bought a really expensive sling. The fabric was really pretty and I could just imagine myself being the perfect stay at home mom. Wearing my peacefully sleeping baby while I cleaned and made dinner. So when Ben was born I tried putting him in the sling and immediately felt uncomfortable. I felt like he was all squished up. The pouch didn't have any give and I felt like it was going to cut off his circulation with his legs all crossed. This is not a review on pouch slings because a lot people really like them and when worn properly, they are great. Just not for me. *There has been a recent recall with pouch slings, those are the deeper ones made by Infanto and other various companies, and not listed on here. Below is a picture of a Hotslings sling.. which is not involved in a recall (that I know of). I am by no means anti-sling. I think they can be great when used properly. Except for the ones on the recall list. Those would be the slings from cooperate hell!

After the pouch was a fail for us, I eventually bought a Moby Wrap . These were a bit intimidating at first. I mean you get this package with nicely folded material. Looong material. And you have to figure out how to wrap it around your body and stick your little bundle of preciousness in there. And.. I'm lazy. Really lazy. Well, not as much now as I was then. I ended up using the Moby maybe a handful of times with Ben.

I dusted it off with Laney and have put many miles on it. The Moby does have a slight learning curve, but once you figure it out. It's actually pretty wonderful. With Laney I was able to hold her securely while she slept and make Ben breakfast and do things around the house. The Moby is a really stretchy jersey (I think) fabric. So I knew it would be super comfy for Delaney. The downside to the Moby is that it is super stretchy. I know- sounds like a contradiction. But once your baby gets heavy enough the Moby will stretch and need to be readjusted often. Which can be a major pain. And you also lose your sense of security as well. When you bend, your little one bends with you. The Moby also doesn't breath well, so its not great for summer. Okay. I'm going to stop typing The Moby now, before one of you starts some sort of drinking game with this post!

My next purchase was a Ring Sling. After watching a zillion instructional videos on ring slings I was sold. I had to have one. So I ordered one of of Etsy.com. My favorite site ever. And my arch nemesis all in one. Damn you Etsy, and Damn you crafty people selling great stuff on Etsy! Okay, I'm back. So the ring sling I ordered on Etsy wasn't so great. It was kinda stiff and definitely confusing. I watched another video and just couldn't get it. I felt the same way about the pouch sling as I did the ring sling. So why did I order yet another ring sling? Because.. I have a problem. I'm starting to wonder if that should be the name of my blog. Anyway- I am glad I did though because the second one was great. After a while I realized that holding Laney in the side laying position just wasn't for me. I just didn't like it. So then I learned how to hold her a hold called "tummy to tummy". Like the picture listed below. This worked great! Laney wasn't old enough to hold her head up on her own for long periods so I was concerned at first but when you wear this correctly you can adjust the "rails" and fit them nice and snug next to you. Although I do prefer the wrap, the sling is fast, and easy and really comfortable. And Laney loves it too. She falls asleep shortly after popping her in.

Structured carrier: There are a quarter of a million structured carriers out there. Really. There are a ton! I'm not a fan of the Bjorn or Snugli or any of those "cooperate" carriers. They have bad reviews as far as extended wear comfort goes, and I've done some reading on how they're not great for the hips. But not all structured carriers are created equally. There are soft structured carriers like Maya Tie's which are an Asian style carrier as well as the BabyHawk. There are some called Ergos which are a bit more structured and similar to what I have. I have the Lillebaby EveryWhere carrier. The reason I chose the LilleBaby over the Ergo was because the Lillebaby allowed for forward facing. Even though the Ergo has excellent reviews among the baby wearing community, and looking at side by side pictures, there isn't much difference between the Ergo and Lillebaby. So the LilleBaby it is. So far its been a fun carrier. Its super easy to get on and really comfy to wear. This carrier is preferred by my husband. Its tan, its got straps and buckles.. its MANLY. I really like this carrier and think it would be cooler for the summer, but I still prefer my ring sling and wraps over this.

Okay, now for the final shebang. My favorite babywearing tool. The wrap. I currently own a slightly stretchy gauze wrap that I bought off of Etsy as well. Its really pretty and really lightweight. I keep this one in my car for when I need to run errands. Love this wrap. I also have an Ellaroo which is super pretty and just lovely. It's a not as thick as most woven wraps and has very little give. But enough to keep things comfy. I bought this wrap new so I'm still working on softening it up. And it's softening up nicely. The beauty part of woven wraps is that they are more secure because they don't have much if any stretch so you can do a ton of holds even for toddlers. One hold that I haven't tried yet, but will soon is the High Back Carry. That's where the baby is worn up high on the back so their little head can peek over. I am waiting on my new baby pictured below (but in red) the Kiora Vatanai Woven Wrap. These are one of the lightest wraps out there. Its great for summer and is super breathable. I cannot wait until this little puppy gets here. I have been waiting for months for it to come back in stock. When it comes in I promise to take a picture of me wearing my littlest in it.

I know a lot of you may have tried babywearing and found your little one just didn't like it. I encourage you to find a local babywearing resource near you and try on different carriers. I kick myself for not giving it a proper go with Ben. But am SUPER thankful that I did with Laney. I can honestly say that when I go and shop and run errands which I do several times a week just to get out of the house, I have never used the super heavy and bulky infant seat. I simply wrap up my little one and let Ben sit in the basket and do my thing. It has been a huge blessing and definitely kept me from becoming a recluse in my house. One of my biggest concerns when I was pregnant with my daughter was getting out of the house with two kids. Would Ben have to walk beside me? A two year old? Or if I had him in the basket would I have to put the car seat in the larger part of the basket? Oye the turmoil! I am sooo Thankful for finding out about this awesome way to bond with my child.